She was running through the forest that surrounds the Land of Roses. She ran for her life as she evaded the attacks of the ninjas who had been pursuing her through the shadows of the land. She knew she was almost there, she only needed to get past the forest and to the clearing, then she'd be able to escape by running along the cliff. Next thing she knew, Kanna's being tackled to the ground and she's fighting for her life. The only thing she could focus on as time slowed down was the sound of the kunai knives against each other and for some odd reason, she was able to vividly remember the break of dawn. Then, without any warning she's falling.. Time returns to normal and she is falling down the cliff; she remembers seeing a familiar face watching her from atop. She could hear her name being yelled out and the horror in those eyes as she was falling to her certain death…
Darkness..
She slowly gained consciousness and her body ached all over, but she was trying to move despite the pain. Not being able to see clearly, she heard a sweet voice telling her not to move and to stay calm. With her vision a bit blurry she could only make out the shadows of two people in an odd place she had never been before. One of the shadows handed some herbal tea and her mind started getting cloudy again as she succumbed to her exhaustion.
She awoke again and asked where she was. Her vision slowly started coming back and only then, she was able to see the unfamiliar faces of an elderly couple. They were both staring at her not really knowing what to say at first. She looked around for a second and noticed she was inside a run down cabin. How they were able to protect themselves during winter she was not sure of. She finally turned to look at them when the female spoke.
"Sweet child, please take it easy..you have been badly hurt. Do you have any family or remember where you come from? We found you unconscious by the river. We don't have much to offer, but we couldn't leave you there on your own. You are welcome to stay with us until you get well." Offered the old lady while her husband reluctantly looked at the two. He knew his wife was trying to do the right thing, but they could barely feed themselves and now they had to provide for Kanna as well. They were farmers who could barely afford to live. The crops had not been doing good that year and were now suffering as a result of the war going on between feudal lords in the region. They wondered if Kanna was a victim of the war and she had been left behind by the army marching East. She did not look like a peasant girl judging by her clothing, but it was also extremely unlikely to see nobility in that area.
Kanna understood their position by looking at her surroundings and she was grateful she had been saved, so she offered them the little money she had brought with her. "Please take this as form of my gratitude for your services. I promise I won't be a bother and as soon as I get better I will help bring food to the table until I am able to leave. As for my family ..." She hesitated. "I don't remember what happened or where they are…." She knew she had to be cautious and could not afford to get caught by those pursuing her. She still didn't know where she was or whether she was still being hunted down by those ninja.
After asking a few questions, she realized that the current in the river had dragged her down out of the Land of Roses and past the border of the Land of Stone. How she survived the fall and managed not to drown she did not know; Maybe she was able to get to shore and walk or maybe she stayed in the river somehow. Either way she could not remember, but she was grateful she was still alive. She had also deduced that it had been at least three days since she had escaped and that gave her some reassurance that she was not being pursued any longer.
As the weeks went by, Kanna became close to the couple, worked in their crops and helped them with daily chores or simple jobs in neighboring farms. She was able to get some money to be able to feed herself and her caregivers. Slowly, she regained her strength and started thinking about what she would do once she was completely healed. She was torn between staying in the farm and helping the poor village of farmers. She was eternally grateful to the elderly farmers and was concerned about their well being. But, she knew deep down that she had a goal she needed to fulfill. The very reason she decided to flee the Land of Roses and she couldn't put it off for too long.
Justice...
She was no longer the girl she used to be before the day she lost everything. In a way, the girl she used to be had died when she fell off the cliff.. That innocent and sweet Kanna was no more. She was still the kind-hearted girl she used to be, but only to those who truly deserved to see that side of her. She grew to be cold and reserved from those around her and she would no longer blindly put her trust in just anybody. The only people she was able to feel something for were those who had helped when she was in need and expected nothing in exchange from her. She truly regarded them as family, almost considered them her grandparents, but she was still cautious around them not wanting them to discover her true identity.
The day when she finally parted ways with them reminded her of all she had lost all over again. Those images came crashing down on her like never ending waves, and suddenly she felt as if she was back in the river drowning. She said her goodbyes and promised to write to them, she promised herself that she would come back and help them or try and send them funds as a way to show gratitude for everything they had done for her.
As Kanna made her way to the next village over, she kept thinking about the time she spent with the elderly couple. It's a funny thing that those who don't have much are the ones who are willing to give the most even to someone they barely know. This thought alone made her hopeful for the future and proved to her that there was still some good in the world. It contradicted her first thoughts after fleeing her homeland and made her hopeful that maybe someday she'd find a place where she could belong. Maybe that would be a second goal worthy of fighting for, but her first was to find the one at fault for turning her life upside down. She thought to herself that maybe someday she could go back to her homeland but she doubted it would still feel like home, not after what had happened. She had a rude awakening to the harsh reality outside the high life she once had, but she found comfort in the simplicity of the ordinary days where she didn't have to answer to anybody. She gained some humility in the last couple of weeks, and she also gained a sense of freedom. Back at home, her family had too many expectations of her and expected her to behave a certain way, which she didn't really mind. She was proud to be what she was and believed that everything would be alright in the world as long as she followed through with what was expected of her. It was as if being born in the Kobayashi clan was her calling and that her life had already been set for her, she simply needed to embrace what being a Kobayashi was. How wrong she was to assume people only acted in good faith. How could she had been so gullible? The harsh reality was that people would betray you, even if you always did right by them, even if they were your family.
While walking down the road, she couldn't help but notice the odd looks farmers and travelers were directing towards her. After all, it was unusual to see a 12 year old girl traveling on her own. Not that she was worried about it, she knew very well she could defend herself from any foe, and on top of that she also had acquired The Dragon before she had left the Land of Roses. She made it to the outskirts of the small province but noticed she had ran out of money. She found it harder to come across an easy job with the locals in this town. Most people kept giving her looks of disapproval or kept shooing her out of their shops as if she was begging for money. There had been many attacks in the village and it was also plagued by crime, so the locals had grown skeptical of foreigners. But to even doubt a hungry child was beyond heartless.
Slightly annoyed by the rudeness of these locals she could not understand their reasoning. Fools, Don't they see that they are pushing me to do the very thing they are trying to keep me from doing? And here I thought adults were the smart ones… She thought. How ironic it had for Kanna to be accustomed to people tending to her all the time and never exposed to the hostility of strangers. If only these people knew of her status. She thought but quickly dismissed the idea of making herself known. She needed to forget about that, her status didn't mean a thing anymore and she could not have used anyway if she didn't want to be found. She was appalled to know that she was now the subject of prejudice and misconceptions. To think that a girl so noble and sincere would resort to a life of crime and theft was disheartening. What would father even think of me right at this moment? She questioned herself, but dismissed the negative thoughts and memories of her family. She was a survivor and for that, she needed to do anything and everything she could even when nobody gave her a chance. And since she had already tried in vain to win money by doing honest work, then she would try a completely different method.
With no other options left, Kanna decided to become what the locals had wrongly accused her of. She found herself a place to remain in the village until she found out more about who the culprit of her misfortune was. Meanwhile, she started stealing food and money from unsuspecting travellers and incompetent feudal lords who'd love to gloat and visit the brothels. She discovered she had a knack for it. In fact, she was a natural at fooling others and committing theft. Growing bored of robbing the typical drunk, she realized that she needed a bigger catch and no, the best place to steal from was not the bank. Banks were for rookies. She walked around the village analyzing which places people where the most vulnerable… She had tried bars, restaurants, parks…. And in that moment, she suddenly had a realization: This particular village was a tourist attraction for its many natural hot springs. Unsuspecting people leaving their belongings behind were easy prey. So she began scheming a plan and a set schedule to rob the hot springs and not get caught by alternating locations situated in opposite sides of town.
Her master plan was a success. The authorities had been looking for the thief but so far, nobody suspected her for any of the crimes. She was able to freely walk around town during the day, and in the evening she'd hit her targets. She had obtained a rather large sum of money, jewelry and other precious objects; at some point she was able to get her hands on a beautiful bottle of perfume. The Art Deco design on the bottle had caught her attention, but what surprised her the most was the scent of the perfume. It smelled like home, it was a scent that reminded her of the Land of Roses. She tried hard to remember whose scent that was and then it hit her: Yui…. Yui, I wonder how you're doing and if you ever think of me...I wonder if you think I'm dead and I wonder if my family is treating you well..I miss you…She thought to herself as she felt a tear rolling down her cheek. In all the time she had spent away from home, she had not thought about her beloved nanny until now. The scent of the perfume brought her vivid memories of her and the not so distant past. It brought her to tears to think that so much had changed in such a short period of time as one day she was surrounded by Yui, Horus her brother, and her father. One day she was surrounded by love and now she had nothing, now she was surrounded by darkness and deafening silence. She tried not letting those dark thoughts overwhelm her, but it was too late. That night she cried herself to sleep, and that perfume became her most prized possession.
In the middle of all that sadness something positive did happen. Kanna managed to fulfill her promise of sending some of the stolen goods back to her temporary family who had previously saved her. She had found a merchant who would go back and forth to the town where the elderly couple lived. Kanna was not completely certain the merchant would stay true to his word, but she had no other choice than to put her faith in him. It wasn't like she was in need of the funds she was sending away. Sometimes she would even indulge in going to the hot springs and enjoy her baths. She would chuckle at the signs posted all over the hot springs warning visitors to be alert of the hot spring thief.
Kanna started her weekend off by preparing her tactics for today's thievery. The previous week had been slow, but she knew many people were visiting the hot springs this weekend thanks to an unusual wave of heat that had reached the town overnight. She decided to get there early and just wait until the hot spring would get a good amount of individuals.
She got herself ready, had some breakfast and just before noon she was out the door and making her way to the hot spring in question. She was pretending to be just visiting and spent a good amount of time enjoying the warm water. As the spring started getting crowded she decided to go back to the changing room and put a different set of clothes on and going incognito. While she was in the changing room, she noticed some older ladies had left their belongings behind, she grabbed a small backpack and rummaged through the unsupervised bags. Kanna's attention was drawn back out to the hotspring, she noticed a noblewoman wearing a beautiful golden necklace with precious stones around her neck. Who in their right mind wears something like that to the hot springs? Who is she trying to impress anyway? Kanna thought rolling her eyes. Throughout the time she had been ransacking the hostprings, she had learned one thing: Never wear jewelry while soaking yourself in the water. She had seen it too many times, noblewomen wearing jewelry, getting too hot by the warmth of the hotspring and taking off the precious objects and leaving them to the side. That's how things get lost. Observed Kanna, a smug little smile appearing on her face.
She sneaked her way out without being seen by the ladies, they had been too focused in the town gossip and whatever shallow things feudal princesses like to talk about. Kanna was quietly crawling to her usual hiding spot when she realized it was already occupied by a big, white haired weirdo. She sneaked up behind him and observes carefully what he is doing.
"Either you are a very big unattractive hag or you are a weirdo, but if you were the first then why would you be hiding? Asked Kanna deep in thought, tapping her chin nonchalantly startling the gentleman who was able to drown a scream, which otherwise would have blown his cover.
"Oi! Little brat! You know you aren't supposed to be stealing from others.. Right, young lady? Scolded the man glancing at the backpack full of stolen goods as he grabbed her by the arm making her lay low behind the bush so that the women wouldn't noticed them.
"You know you aren't supposed to be spying on naked ladies... right, you perv? But...If you give me some coin I won't say a thing" Kanna sneered with a smirk on her face and crippling Jiraiya's accusation and blackmailing him in return. She earned a panicked frown from the old man as he struggled to explain how he had gotten caught red handed.
"I WAS N...HOW DARE Y..IF YOU MUST KNOW..What I'm currently doing is for the sole purpose of research. I do not take pleasure in doing such questionable things, but an author's gotta do what an author's gotta do" Exclaimed Jiraiya masking the fear of being ratted out by a young brat and feeling slightly embarrassed that she had managed to sneak up on a high skilled ninja such as himself.
Kanna looked at him skeptical making him even more nervous…
Oh no, She's about to tell on me, what am I going to do? These ladies looked so appetizing and now I've not only been rudely interrupted but she's going to tell them...He thinks not being able to avert his gaze off her stoic look. Kanna squints at him suspiciously and thinks for a moment then a huge smile appears on her face..
"Well... in that case! If you pay me double the coin..I CAN SHOW YOU A BETTER SPOT TO CONDUCT YOUR RESEARCH OLD MAN" she said as she dragged a skeptic Jiraiya away from one hot spring to another one. Jiraiya was frozen still unable to process what just had happened and the fact he had acquired a minion for his research.
Kanna had grown up and was very mature for her age, but sometimes she could be a bit of an airhead. Jiraiya had gotten lucky that maybe Kanna still held some of that innocence when it came to the situation in hand. Yes, she could care less about why he was spying on women and she might be willing to help him for the money, but at least she chose not to snitch on him.
"This might be the start of something good" Jiraiya muttered with a sheepish grin on his face as he was still being dragged to the next hot spring.
She dropped him off behind a barrier of rocks that were just over a waterfall and a larger body of water. He looked at his surroundings and complained he wouldn't be able to see anything from there. Kanna glared at him, he was a bratty old man after all. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up over the rocks, she then told him to look down towards the water. Jiraiya's eyes almost popped out their sockets and he felt his blood rising up about to spill out of his nose. "Beautiful naked sirens, sunbathing by the shore." he kept murmuring inebriated by the sight as Kanna kept glaring at him indifferently.
"I brought you to my best spot, so pay up old man" Kanna was demanding slightly annoyed by his behavior. He proceeded to give her a good tip for the insight and she prepared to run off with her bounty.
"Wait young lady. What is your name and where are your parents?" Jiraiya asked gaining some common sense back and realizing she couldn't be more than 13 years old.
"My name doesn't matter and I am on my own.." She said as she was starting to run off.
"WAAAAIT...How do I find you so you can show me more hiding spots? I'll give you a good pay!" He quietly shouted so that the young maidens below wouldn't be aware of his presence.
"Meet me here tomorrow at noon! And DON'T get caught or you'll ruin my business!" Kanna could be heard shouting in the distance as she exited the hot spring through what Jiraiya thought was a secret entrance.
What a weird character that girl is...She is somewhat of an airhead but very smart at the same time, a walking contradiction indeed.. Her business? She calls her sets of robberies a business?...Jiraiya contemplated as he stared at where the peculiar girl had been standing. He was deep in thought until he heard a new group of young women entering the newly discovered hot spring. He chuckles to himself as he stares at them, and on that note, he forgets about Kanna and gets back to lurking in the sacred name of his dubious research.
Author's Note: I don't own Naruto
Surprise! I am uploading this chapter early!
I had to include Jiraiya, he is one of my favorite characters and we'll get to see a lot more interactions between him and Kanna in the next couple of chapters.
Tentendeservedbetter: I know exactly what you mean! So, this time around I tried to fix those fragmented sentences in the chapter although I still am able to find a few. I'm glad you liked Kanna's introduction to the story. I'm still deciding in which direction she'll go regarding her family in contrast to Neji's. Both of them will have a similar upbringing but I'm leaning towards Kanna's perception of her clan being different from his. But only time will tell!
Thanks for reading!